Michigan loses Ondre Pipkins to torn ACL

Posted by John Taylor on October 7, 2013, 12:44 PM EST

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Unfortunately, the injury to Ondre Pipkins was as bad as originally feared.

Michigan announced Monday that the defensive tackle suffered a torn ACL in the Wolverines’ win Saturday over Minnesota. The injury occurred late in the fourth quarter and, obviously, will cost the sophomore the remainder of the 2013 season.

“You hurt for Ondre, and I really do because I coach him and he’s in my meeting room every day,” said a statement from head coach Brady Hoke. “He was really starting to turn the corner on the field and become a productive football player for us. The good news is he’s young, he’s a great kid and he has a lot of great football ahead of him.

“We will help him get through this.”

While Pipkins, a five-star member of UM’s 2012 recruiting class, didn’t have a start this season, he was a part of the Wolverines’ defensive line rotation and his loss will be felt by that unit.

The worst part is he won’t be able to use a medical redshirt because it was the 5th game. Hope he has a great surgery and great rehab.

Michigan did get some good news on the defensive front, though. LB Jake Ryan has been cleared to play. He is probably Michigan’s best defensive player and will make a huge difference. He’ll be able to get into game shape against Penn State and Indiana, before another bye week leads into the grunt of the Big Ten season.